Squash players clueless about coach's absence

New Delhi: India's squash players at the Commonwealth Games are a 'clueless' lot right now in the absence of long-time national coach Cyrus Poncha, who has been inexplicably excluded from the touring squad to Glasgow.

Dronacharya awardee Poncha was at pains to explain his exclusion. "I don't know what has happened. I have no comment to make. All I can say is that I'm disappointed at not being with the team," Poncha said.

"It really would have been great to have Cyrus around. We have spent a lot of time with him and share a good rapport. We are missing him here," said one of the India players from Glasgow.

"There is a lot of admin work at multi-sporting events, something he has experience of while being there at the 2010 CWG as well as the last two editions of the Asian Games (Doha & Guangzhou)," said another player. Srivatsan Subramaniam, secretary general at the Squash Rackets Federation of India, said there is a possibility of Poncha going to Glasgow at the federation's cost.

"He would be going later in the competition at cost to the federation and not at cost to the government," said Subramaniam.